KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Dr Muhammad Shafee Abdullah denied that he received payment for his involvement in prosecuting PKR president-election Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II appeals.
Shafee was responding to allegations by Anwar that Shafee had received payments of RM9.5 million in two tranches of RM4.3 million and RM5.2 million in 2013 and 2014, respectively, from former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal account.
“One of these allegations is that these two payments were made as a reward for me to prosecute Anwar in the Sodomy II appeals at the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.
“I have denied this allegation on record in an affidavit that I have affirmed on Aug 3, 2017, in the proceeding brought about by Anwar in his Originating Summon in the High Court of Kuala Lumpur vide WA-24-36- 06/2017. I still maintain that the averment was and is the truth,” Shafee said in a statement today.
Upon being offered to take the task of prosecuting the appeals of Anwar’s case, Shafee proposed to the then Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail that he would undertake the assignment pro bono.
“When Gani suggested that an agreement is entered into between the government and me for purposes of that assignment, I had suggested RM1 to be the formal consideration amount.
“It was counter-suggested by Gani that an amount of RM1,000 is placed as consideration. This culminated in a written
agreement dated July 19, 2013, reflecting the terms of my appointment as the ad hoc deputy public persecutor pursuant to a fiat (a legal authoritative decision that has absolute sanction). This document remains confidential as provided for therein.”
Shafee said Gani and current Attorney-General Chambers’ Appellate and Trial Division head Datuk Hanafiah Zakaria were fully aware of the conditions.
“Najib was also fully aware of this agreement for me to undertake the assignment, virtually pro bono.
“For purposes of the record, I have never taken a single cent from the government or anybody else in relation to my undertaking of the prosecution of the appeals.
“I must stress that even the RM1,000 was never claimed by me to date. This can be confirmed by Hanafiah himself.”